On behalf of the Board of Tourism Rossland and myself I would like to express our sincere appreciation to the entire community for all of its energy, positivity and assistance in putting together such a great event for Canada AM
I would especially like to thank the following people:
The Board of Directors of Tourism Rossland for supporting me with such a crazy idea, and especially for the following volunteers:
Chris Bowman (Flying Steamshovel/Accommodator) and Norm Fraser (Red Mountain Resort) for being bouncers/bodyguards for the crew
Christine Andison (Red Resort Association) for signing in volunteers
Lori Simon (Prestige- Accommodator)- for helping out with the door prizes
Erik Kalacis (Red Mountain Resort)- for being so patient even if I didn't manage to get him on air
Jody Blomme (City of Rossland)- for running coffee to volunteers and businesses
Nancy Trotman (Red Resort Association) for giving out door prizes
Other Volunteers:
Selkirk College Resort and Hotel Students for helping with security and their two instructors who organized and paid for a bus to help out- Wendy Anderson and Harry Pringle
Diana Ducs Executive Director of Nelson Kootenay Lake DMO for helping out with the sign in
Renee Clark for trying to organize the bobsledders (an impossible ask!)
Kelly Acheson and all of the volunteers for the Winter Carnival who put on such an amazing event- especially Jonathon Provencal for the stage, Don Delong and Richard Reid for the beer garden and many, many more.....
Ann Damude (past President of Tourism Rossland- Arts Council) for helping with the door prizes
Roseanne Chobanuk (Legacy) for also helping with the door prizes
Shauna Davis and her fire dancers
Cushla from RossVegas for putting on the rail jam
The Tomato Heads of Red for continuing to be interesting
David Ducharme the ice carver for his charm and flexibility
Roly, and Raymond and all of the Olaus's from the Spirit of Red
Katie Albright from the Library who allowed us to use her facility and helped out with the sign in
John Greene from the Hardware store for providing emergency anti-freeze
Thank you also to all of the downtown retailers who were open and so supportive of this event!
Thank you to the cafes (Grind, Sunshine and Clanseys) for feeding and keeping everyone warm at such an insane time.
Thank you also to the Prestige for assisting us on such a short notice with the accommodation of the crew.
Finally thanks to all of the non-profits who brought their members out and who are receiving donations on behalf of their organisations for all of their help, including:
- Rossland Legion
- RSS Parent Advisory Group
- RSS Grads of 2013
- Red Mountain Racers
- Red Mountain Academies
- Rossland Museum
- Spirit of Red
- West Kootenay Friends of Refugees
- Rossland Library
- Kootenay Kanibelles
- Rossland Scouts
- Canadian Cancer Society
- Trail SPCA
Also- I would really like to thank the City of Rossland- both employees and councillors/mayor for their support on such a short notice- it really was appreciated and this type of support is key to all of our business owners.
Finally I would like to thank Tourism BC and Kootenay Rockies Tourism for supporting this media tour both financially and continuing to send us such high quality journalists every year. We totally appreciate their continued and growing support over the years.
I want to stress how important this type of coverage is to the entire community of Rossland and how this type of exposure is key to continuing to be able to bring guests to this town. The earned media value on this was huge and I am sure we will see a lasting impact on the visitation to our lovely town.
I am sure I am missing some very important and key people.... and so I apologize in advance!
It was totally overwhelming, however we managed to pull it off together and I think we should all be proud of what we were able to accomplish!!
Regards
Deanne Steven
Executive director, Tourism Rossland Society
P.S. Thanks also to the random streaker who kept us all amused!